Coffee Shop ✓

Rainy Day ✓

C H A P T E R . T W O

Thomas spends his Tuesday mornings making art in his tiny flat, whether it be a painting or a sketch—though he usually sticks to sketching when it's just to pass time. Today he walks around his flat, looking for subjects to draw on his sketchpad. He draws a sunflower he has in a vase in his kitchen, then he colors it in with some colored pencils. Next, he draws his windows and the raindrops racing down on it, then he draws his shoes. Lastly, he draws a picture that can only be found in his memory and not his flat: Cara, the beautiful ginger-haired girl from the coffee shop yesterday.

Eyes closed and head leaned back, Thomas tries his best to recall every feature from when he stood right in front of her after helping her from having tripped. Her curly hair was all over the place, probably from having ran through a windy morning; Thomas can vaguely recall a dimple on her right cheek when she smiled; she has thin lips, coated with a light and faint shade of red yesterday; her eyes were a mix of hazel and green, Thomas isn't so sure; her eyelashes accentuated her eyes.

He picks up his pencil and draws every detail he can recall until it's time to leave for his afternoon shift at The Attic.

+

The heavy rain from earlier this morning has died down a bit and is now nothing but a light drizzle. Still, Thomas puts on a hoodie over his uniform and a brown coat over it, just to be ready in case the heavy rain returns on his way back home. He leaves his flat with an umbrella in hand and his backpack slung over his shoulders. Hoodie up, he makes his way to the coffee shop.

Since lunch rush is over, the cafe isn't extremely packed when Thomas walks in. Upon his arrival, his best friend, Levi Harris, is quick to greet him with a loud, "THOMAS ABRAHAM SANDS!"

Thomas winces. Is stating his full name really necessary?

"I see you've missed me a lot, Levi Chester Harris?" Thomas says, throwing his bag, coat, and hoodie at a random direction in the staff room. Levi rolls his eyes at him before hopping onto the baristas' counter.

"A lassie named Cara Roberts was searching fae a Thomas yesterday afternoon," Levi begins, a teasing tone evident in his voice. At this news, Thomas's eyes widen and he abruptly turns away from the cash register he had just faced to look at his friend. "Have ya a clue what tha's aboot?"

Thomas ponders over whether he wants to share his developing crush on the girl that he barely knows, or to try to cover up the suspicious reaction he had just shown and lie about the situation. What has he got to lose anyway when he spills the beans to Levi? He's well aware of the endless teasing that will follow his confession, but he has endured enough of that from Levi that he's pretty much already used to it.

"She didnae give a last name so ah dinnae ken what 'Thomas' she wis talkin' aboot... Thomas Felton? Thomas Hiddleston? Y'know, saying their full names instead of Tom dinnae sound righ'." Levi rambles, his Glaswegian accent getting thicker as he speaks with more slang words than he normally does. "Ye gawn oot, then, mate? Or ye oan the steady?"

"I honestly don't understand a word you're saying sometimes, man." Thomas laughs.

Levi laughs, too, throwing his head back. He's the kind of person that seems to be exaggerating every move he makes; the way he talks, his laughter, his hand movements, his walks. He's just a very goofy person whose mood is always way above happy. "I'll cut the shite, then. I can speak British English like you lot."

"Get to work, Tommy!" George, one of the baristas, exclaims. "And what is Levi doing in here again?" He walks over to the two and Levi hastily jumps off the counter. Levi begins to chant an 'ow' as George drags him away by the ear from Thomas. "This is staff only."